At 7.00am today, I set off with the GM for a meeting of "The Southern Group" of Heritage Railways.
After a 3 hour journey we arrived at Norden Park and Ride and joined the representatives of other Railways. Andre Freeman was already there having stayed with relatives. A cup of tea and a chat was followed by a look around their "Mining Museum" which was a fascinating insight into the extraction and the movement of Purbeck Ball Clay. If you ever go that way, give it a go, it was really interesting.
We then boarded a train for a short trip to Corfe Castle where we were shown their new Signalbox and had a look around their museum. Again, time well spent.
Then it was off to Swanage where we had our meeting proper. Various matters were discussed including Volunteering, Ticketing System, Shop/Buffet Epos, Catering, the Financial climate, projections for 2012 and how the Olympics would benefit/harm Heritage Railways - depending on where they were sited. A Ploughmans Lunch and more Tea followed.
It was a day well spent and we came away with some good ideas which are worth pursuing.
The journey home took 5 hours 10 minutes - the M3 was shut, the A3 overloaded, all routes to the M25 congested. A nightmare.
Petros.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Saturday, 18 June 2011
A Board Meeting
Some may not know what the Board actually does.
Its remit is to set and review Policy and Instructions which are then carried out by the Management team. We also set Budgets every year and monitor performance each month to ensure we do not overspend.
Each agenda has "Safety" is an ever present agenda item and this reminds us of our responsibilities.
A new Regulator has arrived at the Railway. A "what" I hear you say? It is a piece of P.Way kit for levelling ballast and moving it around before the Tamper lifts and re-aligns the track. Our old one was doing a grand job, but time was not on it's side. The new one has the bonus of an on board hopper to pick up unwanted stone and deploy it elsewhere without having to push it along. Just scoop it up and trundle off. The running agreement was discussed and approved for signature.
At our meeting today, we discussed the issue of yet another theft from Witt Rd. The Volunteer effort which had gone into producing such an excellent station had been ruined by the low-life of our community. The Tuesday Group and the Middletons had put in a great deal of hard work to give us a rejuvenated Witt Rd. Chins up people, we will return it to the high standard that it achieved before.
There will be no metal Lamposts to nick, just polycarb' replicas which have little resale value. The average punter will not see the difference from the train. We shall be installing CCTV on site, but I don't wish to go into too much detail at this stage.
We also discussed, and agreed, the Timetable for 2012, approved the Accounts for 2010 and had time for a cup of tea. It was John Cobbs last meeting and in fact he had officially left the Company on Thursday. He was presented with a Lifetime Pass and an invoice for all of the tea he had drunk during the preceding 10 years (new Board Policy). John arrived at a time when the very existence of the Railway was in doubt. We could have been closed down by the Bank at a moments notice. 2001 saw a new regime installed in the Accounts department and the figures produced became believable, if not worrying. John introduced systems which are still in use today and mean that the Board can be satisfied that we can make plans based upon fact and not fiction. Thanks for everything that you have done John.
So, another Board meeting passes into history.
Its remit is to set and review Policy and Instructions which are then carried out by the Management team. We also set Budgets every year and monitor performance each month to ensure we do not overspend.
Each agenda has "Safety" is an ever present agenda item and this reminds us of our responsibilities.
A new Regulator has arrived at the Railway. A "what" I hear you say? It is a piece of P.Way kit for levelling ballast and moving it around before the Tamper lifts and re-aligns the track. Our old one was doing a grand job, but time was not on it's side. The new one has the bonus of an on board hopper to pick up unwanted stone and deploy it elsewhere without having to push it along. Just scoop it up and trundle off. The running agreement was discussed and approved for signature.
At our meeting today, we discussed the issue of yet another theft from Witt Rd. The Volunteer effort which had gone into producing such an excellent station had been ruined by the low-life of our community. The Tuesday Group and the Middletons had put in a great deal of hard work to give us a rejuvenated Witt Rd. Chins up people, we will return it to the high standard that it achieved before.
There will be no metal Lamposts to nick, just polycarb' replicas which have little resale value. The average punter will not see the difference from the train. We shall be installing CCTV on site, but I don't wish to go into too much detail at this stage.
We also discussed, and agreed, the Timetable for 2012, approved the Accounts for 2010 and had time for a cup of tea. It was John Cobbs last meeting and in fact he had officially left the Company on Thursday. He was presented with a Lifetime Pass and an invoice for all of the tea he had drunk during the preceding 10 years (new Board Policy). John arrived at a time when the very existence of the Railway was in doubt. We could have been closed down by the Bank at a moments notice. 2001 saw a new regime installed in the Accounts department and the figures produced became believable, if not worrying. John introduced systems which are still in use today and mean that the Board can be satisfied that we can make plans based upon fact and not fiction. Thanks for everything that you have done John.
So, another Board meeting passes into history.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Sunday 5th June
Not had time to post anything recently, so here's a digest of my K&ESR week.
I fielded a number of calls from Volunteers throughout the week, one at 11.00pm, (cheers Bud).
Nothing desparately urgent, nor anything which couldn't be easily sorted.
On Friday I worked in Carriage and Wagon (on Petros), before the "Petros Summit" meeting, where we agreed a spec' for the interior, subject of course to the agreement of the owners.
Instead of the Petros running around empty for most of its life, we want to install 19 proper seats and space for 7, perhaps 8 wheelchairs. It will be a huge improvement and will enable those who use wheelchairs to feel inclusive, rather than segregated.
Saturday was a day off (still clearing out my late Father's house) and Sunday was a day at Tenterden for a Chairman Chat session. My thanks to those of you who braved the rain, it was nice to speak to you. I did another hour on Petros, rubbing down the first coat of varnish.
It will look great when it is finished.
I fielded a number of calls from Volunteers throughout the week, one at 11.00pm, (cheers Bud).
Nothing desparately urgent, nor anything which couldn't be easily sorted.
On Friday I worked in Carriage and Wagon (on Petros), before the "Petros Summit" meeting, where we agreed a spec' for the interior, subject of course to the agreement of the owners.
Instead of the Petros running around empty for most of its life, we want to install 19 proper seats and space for 7, perhaps 8 wheelchairs. It will be a huge improvement and will enable those who use wheelchairs to feel inclusive, rather than segregated.
Saturday was a day off (still clearing out my late Father's house) and Sunday was a day at Tenterden for a Chairman Chat session. My thanks to those of you who braved the rain, it was nice to speak to you. I did another hour on Petros, rubbing down the first coat of varnish.
It will look great when it is finished.